Seasonal Pantry: You can’t beat borscht in the winter

For weeks, I have been thinking about borscht, specifically about why I typically do not care for it. A friend suggested we have it for Christmas Eve dinner and I bravely declined, explaining that I honestly just don’t like it, except for my own golden beet borscht, which is not traditional.

I finally realized that so many of the versions I’ve had are too sweet and thus, to my palate, rather cloying. I also find dill overwhelming. As it turns out, I’m not alone in my preference for non-sweet or only mildly-sweet borscht. It’s simple to achieve this: just don’t add the sugar that many traditional recipes call for. A generous dose of fresh garlic and plenty of fresh lemon juice make a delicious counterpoint to the natural sweetness of the vegetables, which falls into the background and lets other flavors take center stage.

If you, too, find dill overwhelming, you can omit it or use fennel fronds, which are milder, instead.

Although borscht is a soup, it is a full meal, not a first course. It will keep for several days, properly refrigerated, and improves in flavor for the first two or three days.

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To make this soup, you may want to start a day before serving it. First, make sure you have good homemade beef stock on hand, as it is the foundation of flavor. You can prep everything the day before if you like.

Many recipes for Ukrainian borscht call for a fair amount of sugar, though there are versions that are more tart than sweet, as this one is. Parsnips, carrots, beets and turnips all have a lot of natural sugar so if you prefer a sweet borscht, try making it without sugar. Taste it before adding the lemon juice and add a bit if you need to punch of the sweetness to suit your preferences.

The addition of beet greens is my own little flourish; I hate to waste them, and I think they work beautifully in this soup.

An Almost Ukrainian Borscht

Makes 8 to 12 servings

5 tablespoons lard or bacon fat, plus more as needed

3 pounds beef short ribs

- Kosher salt

1 rack pork ribs, cut in thirds

2 quarts homemade beef stock

1 whole yellow onion

1 carrot, trimmed

1 celery stalk, with leaves

3 Italian parsley sprigs

6 whole cloves

8 allspice berries

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 large beets, greens separated

3 tablespoons butter

2 yellow onions, trimmed and cut into small dice

2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

1 small celery root, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

1 bunch small turnips, quartered

6 cups thinly sliced cabbage

2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste

- Black pepper in a mill

- Juice of 2 lemons

10 garlic cloves, trimmed, peeled, crushed and minced

2 cups whole milk yogurt or cultured sour cream

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or fennel fronds

4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

- Rye bread or other sturdy hearth bread, hot

Put 3 tablespoons of the lard or bacon fat into a large soup pot set over medium-low heat, add the short ribs, season them with salt and brown all over. Add the pork and brown the fatty side. Add the beef stock and a quart of water, along with the whole onion, carrot, celery, parsley sprigs, cloves and allspice berries. Increase the heat to medium and slowly bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer very gently until the meat is falling off the bone, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, put the beets in an oven-proof container, set in a 375 degree oven and cook until tender when pierced with a fork or bamboo skewer; time will vary from 40 to ?60 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. Remove from the oven and let cool until easy to handle. Peel the beets and grate them on the large blade of a box grater. Set aside.

While the beets cook, put the remaining lard or bacon fat into a sauté pan set over medium-low heat. Working quickly, cut the beet greens into ½-inch wide crosswise slices and sauté in the fat until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Use tongs to transfer the greens to a plate or bowl and set them aside.

Return the pan to the heat, add the diced onions and sauté gently, adding more fat as needed, until soft and fragrant, about ?12 minutes. Season with salt and set aside.

When the meat is very tender, use tongs to transfer it to a large platter or bowl to cool. Remove any bones that have separated from the meat and discard them, along with the whole onion, carrot, celery and parsley sprigs. Strain the stock into a large container, discard the spices and rinse the pot.

Set the rinsed pot over medium heat, add the butter and when it is melted, add the parsnips, carrots, celery root, potatoes and turnips and sauté, turning frequently, for 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to take on just a bit of color. Season with salt and add the strained stock. Cook gently, until the vegetables are just tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the cabbage and cook until it is just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked beet greens, the grated beets, the tomato paste and several generous turns of black pepper. Simmer very gently for ?10 minutes.

Working quickly, chop or tear the meat into small pieces, discard the bones and stir the meat into the soup.

Add the lemon juice, taste and correct for salt. Stir in the garlic and remove from the heat.

To serve, ladle into soup plates and top each portion with yogurt or sour cream, dill or fennel and parsley and enjoy right away, with hot bread alongside.

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Delicate and subtle, this soup is an evocative starter to any meal and particularly delightful when the menu has Mediterranean or specifically Greek overtones. The yogurt mixture that crowns the golden liquid is a variation of traditional tzatzíki, a Greek yogurt and cucumber salad to which I have added chives. This recipes appears in “The Good Cook’s Book of Salt & Pepper” (Skyhorse Publishing, 2015, $18.99).

Golden Beet Borscht

Serves 4

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed

1 yellow onion, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 medium russet potato, diced

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 cups chicken or beef stock

1 pound golden beets, roasted until tender, peeled and diced

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar

1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons snipped chives

8 ounces plain whole milk yogurt

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds, lightly toasted

- Whole chives, for garnish

Pour the olive oil into a heavy saucepan set over medium low heat, add the onion and sauté until it is soft and fragrant, about ?15 minutes. Add the carrot and potatoes, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add several turns of black pepper, along with the ginger and cumin.

Pour in the stock and simmer for about 10 min-utes, until the potatoes are almost tender. Add the beets and vinegar and simmer 15 minutes more.

Meanwhile, put the minced cucumber into a colander or strainer, toss with salt and let drain for 20 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid and transfer to a small bowl, Add the garlic, snipped chives and yogurt, taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Remove the soup from the heat and let cool slightly.

Puree with an immersion blender and, for a more suave soup, pass it through a fine sieve. Reheat as needed.

To serve, ladle into soup plates and top with a generous dollop of the yogurt. Sprinkle with a bit of cumin seed, garnish with whole chives and serve right away.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.